Cruel, Twisted Love
by angelofmercyx
Summary: Princess Caroline and Prince Niklaus both decide to flee their kingdoms when they are both wanted dead. They find each other unexpectedly and coincidentally in Mystic Falls. Their kingdoms are arch-enemies, but that doesn't mean Caroline and Klaus have to be.
1. A Tale of Two Kingdoms

**A/N: I don't own anything but the idea of my fanfic. And, this is just BASED on the show, meaning I'm coming up with an entirely different storyline than old-fashioned Mystic Falls. Please read and review, tell me if I should continue with this! Thanks :)**

* * *

A Tale of Two Kingdoms

Once upon a time, there were two kingdoms. One, called Forbia, the other Mikaelsonia. They were both small but powerful, an ongoing war feuding between them. King William and King Mikael were constantly battling for power, hungry for money and jewels. They would send out troops to fight, trying to take captive of the other city. But each army was just too good, because no one would ever win.

Princess Caroline was the daughter of King William, a fair-haired, blue-eyed beauty. All the gentlemen, knights, and dukes wanted her hand in marriage. But she held her pride, not giving in to any one of them. If she was next in line for the throne, she wanted a good man fit to be king.

Meanwhile in Mikaelsonia, Prince Niklaus, or Klaus for short, was the most handsome out of his three younger brothers. And he was polar opposite of Caroline, taking advantage of his dazzling charm, using it for pleasure with all the pretty women. He toyed with each fair maiden, then dropped them for someone else. He was next in line for the throne, and didn't even think twice about preparing for the future.

But one fateful day, Klaus had been forced to flee when a Forbian soldier attempted to assassinate him. And somehow, either by coincidence or not, someone attempted to poison Princess Caroline. It was simply too dangerous to stay in the kingdom, being at risk of death. She fled as well, vowing to her father she would come back and take her royal role back when the war ended.

And by chance or not, both royalties ended up in a small town on the outskirts of the kingdoms, called Mystic Falls, where secrets hid beneath the sparkling blue water and quaint townsmen.

When the two meet each other in a small bistro, their lives will change forever.


	2. Beauty Meets the Beast

The Beauty Meets the Beast

Prince Niklaus reached a small town on his black stallion, after the end of his long trek from Mikaelsonia. It was almost dawn, he could see the night sky turning to a faded blue as the sun peeked over the trees. He hadn't slept all night, he just took the horse from the royal stables and fled. His family probably thought he fled because of the fact he was in danger, or maybe they thought he was simply a coward. Klaus knew the real reason; escaping from his over-controlling, unloving, cold-hearted family. Maybe to everyone else in the kingdom, the royal family seemed happy and sincere. But nobody knew what went on behind closed doors, and even if the servants and maids heard about it, they knew better than to talk and gossip. King Mikael would have them executed for treason and slander before it could spread to the towns and villages.

Klaus knew that replaying his hurt and anger wouldn't do him any good. It would only bring back bitter feelings towards his mother and father, which would later get worse and uglier.

He tied up his horse, whom he'd named Ebony, and strolled into the town inn, its sign reading "Mystic Falls Inn & Grill." Hopefully the townsfolk wouldn't recognize that Klaus was of royal blood, because that could put him in danger, having a potential assassin on the loose. Before opening the rickety wooden door, he knelt and rubbed a pinch of dirty dust on his cheeks and ran a hand through his hair to mess it up. Surely royals weren't known for being anything less than prim and proper, and hopefully nobody would recognize him.

He opened the door and sauntered in casually, noticing that there was almost no one at the mismatched tables, just a handful of townsfolk chatting over warm, steaming coffee. It must have been too early in the morning. Klaus was almost positive that all peasants literally got up at the crack of dawn. He must have been mistaken.

There was a young woman leaning against the bar, and Klaus made his way to her. Once she saw him, her posture straightened and her expression brightened, as if she wasn't up at the crack of dawn.

"G'day, love," Klaus said charmingly, knowing that he was making the pretty redhead swoon. Her blue eyes were big and round with adoration, making Klaus feel like the powerful prince he always was. Being king was highly overrated, when you could simply be a prince instead, being waited on and not having to make any important decisions. "Do you think I could get a room?"

The girl fluttered her eyelashes and nervously handed Klaus a leather-bound notebook. "Of course. Just sign your name here."

Klaus contemplated signing his real name, Niklaus Mikaelson, but that would be a tad bit obvious and foolish. Klaus may have done stupid, impulsive things at times, but that did not make him a fool. He went with "Klaus Kingston."

As the girl took the book from him, she looked up in alarm. "You look exactly like Prince Niklaus," she hissed in wonder. Regaining her composure, she closed the book and set it on a shelf. "Of course, I wouldn't know, because I've never met him, but-"

She stopped talking as Klaus stared deep into her eyes. Klaus could tell she was getting a tad bit creeped at his intensity. "I am not Prince Niklaus," he said calmly, watching the girl's eyes go blank.

"You are not Prince Niklaus," she repeated back, a confused look on her face as she snapped back into reality. "Just another lookalike," she muttered to herself awkwardly as she handed Klaus his room key.

"Thanks, sweetheart." Niklaus pocketed the key in his coat and walked back out to check on his horse, to make sure it wasn't stolen and that it was still alive. Besides, he didn't feel like climbing all those stairs to get to his room. When he reached outside, he realized that he didn't ask about a stable where he could keep Ebony. Looking at his lovey horse, h noticed a young woman in a black lacy cape stroking Ebony's dark mane.

He walked towards her, realizing that she was not only a girl he could woo, but a gorgeous one. Much prettier than the girl at the inn, and much more dazzling than his mother's coveted jewelry box. She looked up at him, and smiled, her brown eyes reminding him of rich chocolate, and her smile was like rays of heaven shining on the wicked earth.

"My apologies, sir," she said humbly, curtseying before him. "I'm just a horse-lover, and couldn't resist feeling the velvety softness of this one's beautiful coat."

Klaus smiled back a genuine smile, not the smile he used to prey on women, but a real smile he hadn't used in a long time. Not only was this woman pretty, she was also polite and spoke with an impressive, artistic vocabulary. Klaus was left dumbfounded, as he would never think to describe Ebony's hide as "velvety."

"That's alright, my fair lady. What's your name?"

Her smile faltered slightly, and she looked down at the dusty cobblestone ground. "Caroline."

"What a lovely name." Klaus knew he had heard it before. And somehow, he knew he recognized her face, but from where?

Then it all came back. This is the girl, the family, that Klaus had been brought up to hate.

Princess Caroline of Forbia.

* * *

Caroline stared at the handsome man, worried that she might have tipped off his memory by saying her real name. She hoped fleeing to somewhere as remote as Mystic Falls would be safe, not expecting anyone to know who she was.

"Caroline is my middle name, though, and my parents always raised me calling me by it," she lied. "My real name is actually Elizabeth." Caroline hoped she sounded a lot more convincing than she felt. She suspected that little white lie wouldn't help if this man knew who she was. It would have to take more than a name-change to get him to believe her.

The man raised his eyebrows, and didn't seem convinced at all. He leaned in closer, his blue eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Are you the princess of Forbia?" he whispered.

Caroline felt her gut wrench, as if she'd been pummeled by someone in the stomach. Her cover couldn't be blown now, not when she was in too much danger already. "Why would you ask that?" She tried to sound breezy and nonchalant.

The man grabbed her hand suddenly, taking her to a concealed area where there was no people, just bushes and trees. He looked at her urgently, his sky-blue eyes piercing into hers, as if he could see into her very soul. "You need to tell me if you are the princess."

Caroline felt oddly compelled to admit that she in fact, was. She didn't even think twice about the risk of him being the assassin who tried to poison her. She didn't worry about anything for the three seconds of gazing into the man's mesmerizing blue eyes. Caroline felt like she would do anything he asked, just to see those intense, stunning eyes, bluer than the ocean.

"Yes," she whispered. "I am the princess."

Suddenly she shot back, dazed. What had she just done? She started to wrench away from his grip on her small forearm, but his strength was too much, more than anything she'd ever known. How had this handsome, yet dirty peasant gotten so strong from what, carrying bales of straw for his horses? Wasn't straw a lightweight plant? Caroline knew nothing about the peasant life.

"Let go of me," she demanded. She was a princess, and whether she was hiding her identity or not, this man needed to treat her with respect.

"Sweetheart, I'm not going to hurt you. I need to know something, why aren't you in your castle? No princess should be out at this early hour." The man looked at her intently again, and the urge to obey his commands came back. What beautful, deep eyes. Caroline felt as if she could get lost in them.

"Someone wants me dead," she sputtered out before she could control it. _What is wrong with me?_ she demanded herself.

The man's eyebrows shot up in shock, and his mouth was hanging open for a split second. "Funny story, love. I am in the same boat."

Caroline warily glanced at him. "How so?"

"Well, I just so happen to be the prince of Mikaelsonia, and someone attempted to assassinate me, too." He smiled charmingly, as if he was just talking about the weather. "Some respect others have for royals, eh mate?"

Caroline blinked stupidly for a moment. "Wait. So you're ..."

"Prince Niklaus of Mikaelsonia." He winked, making her heart temporarily flutter like a hummingbird. But then she grasped the reality of what was happening. This man, who had the strongest human grip in the world, was also the man from the family her father so fiercely hated? He had told Caroline to never trust anyone from that kingdom, especially the royals. And they were both targeted by an assassin?

"But please, call me Klaus."


	3. All The King's Men

All The King's Horses & All The King's Men

Klaus watched in slight amusement as Caroline's face went blank. He loved compelling humans. It gave him such a feeling of power, which he never felt with his father. His father always had to control everything, including how Klaus acted and what he said, because he was the "prince of Mikaelsonia."

"Someone wants me dead," she said almost mindlessly.

"Funny story, love. I am in the same boat." He remembered his assassin coming at Klaus with a wooden stake, the fool seeming confident in killing him. Not that the wooden stake would have worked. He was an Original. But it was still unsettling to know that there was someone out there who wanted him dead, and knew everything about his "race," so to speak.

"How so?" She tilted her head slightly, seeming wary and guarded.

"Well, I so happen to be the prince of Mikaelsonia, and someone attempted to assassinate me, too." He scoffed, all the while keeping his charming smile on his face. "Some respect others have for royals, eh mate?"

Some respect people had for the undead, as well. That assassin should not have chosen to attempt to kill Klaus, because now the assassin was dead. If it was someone like Elijah, he would let him off with a warning. If his father knew that he actually killed his own assassin, he's probably throw a fit, but on the bright side, there was nowhere to throw the fit, because Klaus was gone. Out of his father's life, for good. He was certain his father didn't mind at all, either.

Caroline blinked. "Wait, so you're ..."

"Prince Niklaus of Mikaelsonia," he finished. "But please, call me Klaus."

Caroline was quiet, rattling Klaus's already high-strung nerves. Her eyes darted around from Ebony to the nearby rose-bush to the rising sun, finally meeting back with Klaus's eyes. "What if we have the same assassin after us?"

Klaus shook his head. "I'm positive it wasn't." Caroline wasn't a vampire, so why would the same vampire-hunter assassin want to kill her?

"It could be."

He gazed into Caroline's eyes, which in the now rising sunlight, turned from brown to dark green. It was fascinating how her eyes changed colour. The only colour Klaus had in his eyes was boring, slate blue.

"Do you have a place to stay?" he asked, breaking his gaze away awkwardly. He wasn't used to a challenging gaze like Caroline's, just the admiring gazes from all the women he'd wooed.

Caroline shrugged indifferently. "I'll find a place." She looked as if she didn't trust Klaus, which Klaus didn't blame her for. He barely trusted himself. Being around people, around humans, was like seeing your favourite desserts all on one table, but not being able to eat one of them. But Klaus knew that Caroline simply didn't trust him because he was of another kingdom.

So there was no way in hell that he was going to let her know who he really was.

* * *

Caroline set her bag on her bed and flopped down, which if her mother saw such an unladylike move, she'd scold Caroline like a dog. In a way, it felt good to be on her own, no matter how long she'd live in fear, no matter how much she'd miss her parents. The only problem would be when her long supply of money ran out. Then she would actually have to work.

Maybe Caroline could be a seamstress. Her mother sewed and knit often, and Caroline thought it couldn't be that hard.

She unpacked her things, her money pouch, her silver hairbrush, a few simple, low-key day dresses, and other essential things for beauty. Her mother had also scolded her like a dog for bringing too much, reasoning that she "wasn't moving to the mountains." Caroline smiled smugly as she unpacked a few extra dresses and jewelry she'd snuck in there.

A soft knock came on the door of her room at the Mystic Falls Inn & Grill.

"Come in," Caroline chirped, hanging up her dresses in the wardrobe. Maybe she was being stupid and foolish, but she decided the last minute to get a fancier suite, not wanting to live like a peasant. She had to take baby steps, then maybe she could live in a middle-class inn room. Nothing less.

A girl probably Caroline's age stepped into the room. She had caramel skin, dark wavy hair, and dark brown eyes that seemed to stare into Caroline's soul. Her navy dress and white apron made it clear that she was a maid.

"Good morning, miss," she said humbly, bowing with respect. "I'm Bonnie Bennett, and I'll be your maid for your stay. If there's any questions you have about Mystic Falls, please don't be afraid to ask. And if you don't want to see me, I'll stay right out of your way."

Caroline beamed. This was just like her home, she was being waited on hand and foot! "My name is Caroline Williams," she said carefully, using her father's first name as her own last name. She offered her hand to shake, and Bonnie took it, smiling. As they made eye contact, a strange, distracted look came across Bonnie's porcelain-doll face. Caroline frowned, unsure of what Bonnie was thinking. Did she figure out who Caroline really was? Did she know that she was a runaway princess?

Bonnie seemed to snap out of it. "Where are you from?" she inquired politely.

Her change of subject didn't relieve Caroline at all, it only made her more nervous. "Um, far away," she said, trying to come off as indifferent and aloof. "It's not anyone's business but mine," she added bluntly.

Bonnie's delicate face turned slightly pink at the cheeks. "My apologies, Miss Williams."

"I have a question," she stated. "What is there to do in this small town?"

"Well, we're named Mystic Falls for a reason. You can visit the falls on the mountain, or chat with the locals downstairs at the Grill. There are some nice shops, and a market that gets quite busy in the day, and other things to explore."

Caroline smiled at Bonnie deviously. "Are there any handsome men in this town?"

Bonnie seemed startled by Caroline's question, tittered, and said, "I suppose there is." She half-smiled. "The Salvatore brothers, Mr. Lockwood, and Mr. Donovan are all fine catches."

Caroline put a finger to her cheek, pretending to think something out. "Well, Miss Bennett, when you are free of work, you can introduce me." When Bonnie stood there for a few beats too long, smiling like an idiot, Caroline snapped her fingers. "You may leave now."

"Of course." She politely bowed her head and ducked out the door.

Caroline couldn't help but think that Prince Niklaus was a fine catch as well. He had startling blue eyes, sandy coloured curls, and a devilish smirk that screamed how high he thought of himself. Caroline normally wasn't attracted to that type, because she thought unless you were of royalty, you had no reason to think higher of yourself than you should.

Picking up her hairbrush and running it through her blonde waves, she remembered that Klaus was of royalty, and he had all the reason to be so cocky. But it was impossible to love him, because he was from Mikaelsonia. She tried to push the seducing thoughts out of her mind, but it was about as easy as pushing away a plate of strawberry shortcake.

After their startling conversation ended, Caroline awkwardly made her way into the inn. Klaus happened to follow her inside, and when she had glared at him, he went upstairs to what she assumed was his room. The girl working at the desk watched him with a wary, yet awe-filled eye. Caroline's fists had clenched at her side, because she knew that girl would never have a chance with him. She was a peasant, and he was royalty.

Slow down, Caroline thought to herself, coming back to the present. Was she getting possessive of Klaus? Jealous? No, that couldn't be possible. She didn't even have him, so how could she get jealous or possessive?

Caroline figured that she needed to calm herself down, or maybe simply get her mind off things. She strolled down the stairs to the grill, ready for any of the handsome men Bonnie mentioned to show up. Surely she would know who they were by seeing them. Caroline was talented with men, as they all wanted to marry her. It was funny, because most people assumed Caroline didn't want to marry because she was smart. Which she was.

No, she didn't want to marry so she could have all the young men at her feet. And without her parents anywhere around, she could have all the men she wanted.


End file.
